An Orthodox View on Child Abuse

by Fr. Stanley S. Harakas

An apparently new social concern has risen in our days which highlights
the abuse of children. Child abuse is generally understood in
our day in broad terms, including the physical, mental, and spiritual
harassment of children. Specifically, child abuse is often understood
as inflicting physical harm on children such as striking. punching,
whipping, depriving them of physical needs, or subjecting them
to sexual perversity. Also, included in the understanding of child
abuse is the psychological and emotional harm caused by excessive
criticism, denigration, constant verbal maltreatment, psychological
abandonment, or hatred.

Child Abuse in History

None of these evils, however, is new or unknown in history. In
the period when Christianity first began to spread throughout
society, the place of children oftentimes was very precarious.
Fathers had, in Roman Law, the right of life and death over their
children. Abortion, infanticide, and the exposure of new born
infants was a common practice. Young children who were exposed
were frequently rescued by those who would use them for immoral
purposes, such as pornography, homosexuality and prostitution.
Christianity reacted strongly to these attacks against children
and developed a widely-based and coherent moral teaching and practice
reacting to wide-spread child abuse.

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of Christian teaching and moral values concerning
child abuse is the whole Orthodox Christian understanding of marriage
and family. One of the essential purposes of marriage is procreation.
Spouses become parents not only in a physical way, but also spiritual,
since Orthodox Christianity understands procreation as the cooperation
of husband and wife with God for the continuation of the human
race not only in a physical sense but also morally and spiritually.
For the Church, children are a gift from God who complete and
fulfill the communion of husband and wife, in the image of the
community of Divine Persons which is the Holy Trinity. Ethically,
children are required to obey and respect their parents (Exodus 20:12) and parents assume the responsibility for the physical,
moral and spiritual nurture of their children. The love of parents
for their children is assumed by the teaching of the Church as
natural and proper. It expresses itself in affection for children
and concern for their welfare. Jesus asked, "If a son shall
ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone?",
assuming the good will and intentions of the parent. The Church,
expects as well, that parents will guide, direct, and discipline
their children, including appropriate punishment when necessary.
For, not to discipline offspring is to treat them "as illegitimate
children, not as sons" (Hebrews 12:5-11). But discipline
and punishment for the sake of correction must be motivated by
love and genuine concern for the child, so the teaching of the
Church also places limits: "Fathers, do not provoke your
children to anger," (Ephesians 6:4) "lest they become
discouraged" (Colossians 3:21). The major task of parents
is to direct their children in the paths of the Lord, that they
may know Him and in Christian faith, obedience, and Sacramental
life, grow in the image of God toward Theosis. In addition, parents
are obligated to educate and train their children to be good and
useful members of society, to earn their living, so as to contribute
to the general welfare and assist the poor and to develop a consciousness
of service to humanity, as well as to prepare them in turn to
become husbands, wives, and parents in the future.

Abortion and Exposure

With this background, it become evident why very early in its
history the Church sought to protect children from abuses of all
kinds. Many of those early concerns are still pertinent today,
and unfortunately, some new concerns have been added. The war
against the child begins with abortion. What the Apologist Aristides
said in the 2nd Century continues to be true today: "it is
not permitted to destroy the fetus while it is still in the womb.
To prevent birth is to be beforehand with murder; and it makes
no difference whether one kills a life already born, or suppresses
it at birth. He is already a man who is about to be one; and every
fruit already lives in its seed." (Apology IX, 6) Orthodox
Christians will oppose abortion in principle and practice and
will struggle to change the immoral legalization of abortion,
as a legalization of murder.

Though exposure of children in a physical sense does not happen
too often in our society, it still occurs elsewhere throughout
the world. It should also be noted that moral, emotional and psychological
abandonment is becoming more wide-spread among us. Morally, the
ancient practice led to the sexual abuse of children. Justin Martyr,
writing about the year 155 noted that Christians "hold it
a crime to expose newborn infants because we see that almost
all of them are dragged into prostitution, not only the girls,
but also boys people raise adolescents for the sole purpose
of abusing them obscenely" (1st Apology XXVII, 1). An alarming
increase of child pornography, child prostitution and child homosexuality
is now being reported in the press, and the Church must oppose
it. Even more widespread in our society is the emotional abandonment
of our children. Children are not "wanted", they are
a "burden", it is not "fashionable" to have
children. The neo-paganism of our times repeats the attitudes
of the enemies of the child of every age. A pagan work called
the "Satyricon" advised that one ought not to have children,
for whoever does have any won't receive party invitations and
won't be esteemed. In imitation, our day speaks of "mere
motherhood" and denigrates parenthood, which the Church sees
as cooperation with God. How can these be reconciled? Orthodox
Christians in precept, word and deed will affirm both parenthood
and childhood.

Abandonment

Another concern unique to our time, is that children are isolated
from the rest of the social fabric with their own music, styles,
values, heroes, etc. Among the chief culprits in this "abandonment"
is television. Parents use TV today to "baby sit" their
children. But it has taken over the family. The Greek Orthodox
Archdiocese Department of Religious Education pamphlet on TV refers
to "the way the TV subtly gets control of our lives
TV casts out the natural experiences of the family, the daily
give and take, the conversations and the personal sharing
It reshapes family life. It influences the raising and growth
of children. It shapes and molds people's attitudes and world
view almost without their realizing it." (Television in
the Christian Home, p.5).

This psychological abandonment of our children allows all sorts
of un-Christian values to enter the hearts and minds of our children,
something no Christian parent may properly do. For it is the responsibility
of parents to nurture, educate, and guide their child in the ways
of faith, moral values, and spiritual life. A Christian writing
from the earliest period of the Church instructs Christian parents
"Do not neglect your son or daughter; but teach them from
childhood the fear of God." (Didache IV, 9). It is abuse
of our children to. permit the secular society to imbue them with
materialistic, secularist and immoral values, denying to them
the "waters of life" (Revelation 21:6) which come from
God, for we deny to them in fact, their true light and life" (John 1:4; 11:25,
20:31). What greater abuse can there be! We
must support all efforts of the Church, movements in society and
civil efforts to provide a spiritually and morally wholesome environment
for our children and wage a vigorous struggle against all that
pollutes and distorts their lives, what ever form it may take.

Drug and Bodily Abuse

One of the greatest abuses of children is the diabolical spread
of drugs. Young people are systematically introduced to various
drugs and made psychologically and physically dependent upon them.
This fearsome addiction attacks their whole being, destroying
their moral freedom and spiritual growth. If abuse of alcohol
is condemned by the Church (Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:21), how
much more so does the Orthodox Church oppose involvement with
illicit drugs? As a Church we are unalterably opposed to drug
use by our own people, with special concern for our children,
as well as all persons in our society. As a Church we support
efforts by our government in its war against the traffickers in
drugs.

It remains, to be noted that the Orthodox Church utterly condemns
those who physically do bodily harm to children. Children are
to be treated with love, concern, patience, and understanding.
The tenderness of Jesus toward children is the source of our opposition
to child abuse. "And He took a child, and put him in the
midst of them; and taking him in his arms, he said to them, 'Whoever
receives one such child in my name, receives me; and whoever receives
me, receives not me, but him who sent me'" (Mark 9:36-37).
Thus, the remarkable conclusion: to treat a child with love is
to show love for God. But the opposite is fearsome: to abuse a
child is to abuse God!